# Sci-fi/horror predicaments you wouldn't want to find yourself in **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036 "2005-08-15T02:11:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/41 "2005-08-15T20:10:07Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Not destroy, space. Open the ship to vacuum while wearing your spacesuits. […] But, that’s beside the point as you are making the common mistake of picking on the example and not the statement the example is backing. You get a pass this time… 😉 > > Because the main point is that I wouldn’t want to be in a similar situation in real life, not what makes a movie watchable. Well I _was_ picking on your example, I admit. But I don’t admit it was a mistake. 😃 But yes, I follow your point and the topic of this thread. We’re really talking about _finding onesself_ in the predicaments of these characters, which predicaments would be the worst, and what we might do then — aside from screaming and running around in visceral, animal panic. Still, I can’t let it go quite yet… As we know from watching, the crew of the Nostromo in _Alien_ never even discuss de-pressurizing the ship (right?), either because the writers didn’t think of it, or didn’t want the plot to take that path, or maybe because they thought it was an implausible idea. Not that a beast with super-acidic blood and body growth violating conservation of mass seems to have given them pause. Ignoring the biological objections though, I can imagine that a spaceship like that wouldn’t be designed to evacuate its air, even into storage tanks that could later re-fill the ship. What would be the point of building in that feature, if you’re not expecting homicidal alien stowaways? It’s also not apparent whether the alien even needs air anyway, a possibility the crew might have considered. Maybe he would just sit there in the ventilation ducts, spooning into his Haagen Dazs, waiting for his moment. Maybe he would just start attacking the crew anyway, _in their spacesuits_, vacuum be damned. Of course we can’t know what the Nostromo crew might or might not have thought privately, or discussed off-camera, since they’re just fictional characters in a fictional world. I’m only saying that _Alien_ had, I thought, pretty realistic _human reactions_ and attempted solutions to the circumstances the characters found themselves in, even if those circumstances weren’t wholly realistic. (And I see **lno** beat me to what I was going to say about _Aliens_, so I’ll let that one rest.) For my own response to the OP, I’ll offer the movie _Seconds_ (1966). It’s an obscure film, probably hard to find, and has a very slow first half, but has (I think) a pretty fearsome conclusion. It’s basically about throwing your life away, or letting it be taken from you, and only realizing at the last minute, when it’s too late, that you really want to live after all. The last few minutes of this movie are some of the most chilling I’ve experienced. And there isn’t a drop of blood shed; the horror is all in the mind. I’ll also second **Revtim’s** mention of _The Jaunt_. My only quibble with that story is, if you go through the experience it describes, how could you come out speaking any sentences or phrases at all? I would think you’d be catatonic. In fact I wouldn’t think there could be “you” at all anymore, after that. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/42 "2005-08-15T20:20:24Z")
I still say you’re missing the point (both of you), but I’ll let it rest too. 😃 That’s my final answer, Regis. Being at the mercy of other’s poor decisions is a nightmare scenario is all. Perhaps the examples weren’t the clearest that could’ve been offered, but they were only there in the first place to serve the main point, not become a debate subject of their ownsies. (And I’m a card carrying original member of the Nitpicker’s Guild!) All in good fun, guys. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/43 "2005-08-15T20:22:32Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > To wake up in the plot from the Cube - a maze where every other room is booby trapped with some horrific way to die. That would suck. Not a big D & D player, eh? I’ve always been totally freaked out by the “floating in space without a ship while watching your O2 gague slowly inching towards zero” scenario. I think I remember seeing that on _Space 1999_ when I was a wee lad and it freaked me out pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/44 "2005-08-15T20:49:58Z")
Two different situations from **Being John Malkovich**. [spoiler]Being John Malkovich. You’re a successful actor, then you go into your own head where everyone looks just like you, then you’re taken over by a guy that turns you into a puppeteer, finally freed for a few seconds until dozens of old people enter your body. Being the John Kusak character, being forced into watching your female infatuation and your ex-wife raise their daughter as a loving couple, with you trapped inside unable to control anything. ::shudder::[/spoiler] Another one: being in the situation from **Open Water**. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/45 "2005-08-15T20:53:07Z")
A _Battle Royale_ style scenario (you and your fellow classmates are stranded on an island with an explosive device strapped to your necks and must kill or be killed) would suck. On the flip side, living in the Matrix wouldn’t be half bad as long as I got to offer my consulting advice into how to more efficiently enslave humanity. (Yeah, I’d be the traitor. Why the heck not? I’d love to live a cartoon version of reality, and I think my mind can take it - I’m already at least half crazy. :D) ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/46 "2005-08-15T21:14:34Z")
I’m trying to decide which would be worse: a ruthless, corporatized dystopia (like _Blade Runner,_ or _The 5th Element_), or a dreary, fascistic dystopia (like _1984_). In the former, there’s at least the theoretical chance of bettering your lot in life, while in the latter at least you know you won’t get jumped in an alley and mugged or sold for parts on the black market by the cybermafia, or something. (But that’s mainly because you’d have absolutely nothing left, not even your body or soul, that anyone could possibly be bothered to take from you.) ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/47 "2005-08-15T21:36:18Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > I’m trying to decide which would be worse: a ruthless, corporatized dystopia (like _Blade Runner,_ or _The 5th Element_), or a dreary, fascistic dystopia (like _1984_). I vote for _The 5th Element_. It seems like a fabulous place, as dystopias go. And if someone kills me young, to harvest my body for parts or whatever, well, I’ll die smiling anyway. I’ve noticed that almost all of the popular dystopias seem to be urban. You almost never get to hear about what life is supposed to be like out in the countryside (except in _Brave New World_), or in small towns away from the cities. I would presume that the further you were away from the centers of power, the less interest the government and corporations would take in you. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/48 "2005-08-15T22:21:34Z")
I think it’s the shabby look of a run down urban setting that piques the curiosity of the average reader of dystopics more than does an unkempt “wild” look that characterises uninhabited or sparsely populated rural scenes. Deserts are another story tho, oddly enough (in my experience as a sci-fi fan anyways). ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/49 "2005-08-15T23:09:31Z")
Being the pilot in Tom Godwin’s “The Cold Equations.” Or any of the successor stories. That would suck far, _far_, **far** worse than anything bad happening to _me_. Which isn’t to say that I’m looking forward to hearing the hiss of my space suit developing a leak 30 minutes travel time from help. Or being one of the ‘survivors’ in the after compartments of _Kursk_, after the accident. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/50 "2005-08-15T23:26:28Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I think it’s the shabby look of a run down urban setting that piques the curiosity of the average reader of dystopics more than does an unkempt “wild” look that characterises uninhabited or sparsely populated rural scenes. I’ve seen/read stories set in the future where things we find common today become rare and expensive. You see a guy come home from shopping saying, “They actually had real tomatoes at the store today! They were $20 each, but it was worth it!” I often wonder if that type of thing will ever happen. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/51 "2005-08-15T23:30:52Z")
Being in a giant ape’s hand while atop the Empire State Building. Yeah, talk about massive hyperventilating. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/52 "2005-08-15T23:31:58Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I’ve seen/read stories set in the future where things we find common today become rare and expensive. You see a guy come home from shopping saying, “They actually had real tomatoes at the store today! They were $20 each, but it was worth it!” > > I often wonder if that type of thing will ever happen. It’s not as far out there as you might think - substitute “organic” for “real” and you’ll see what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/53 "2005-08-15T23:32:45Z")
Any \*Mad max / Day After / Threads / 28 Days Later /The Stand \* type scenario–even though the last two scenarios would be a little better since they end on a positive note. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/54 "2005-08-15T23:42:29Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > Another one: being in the situation from **Open Water**. Ugh. If only that were sci fi. That was a true story :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/55 "2005-08-15T23:59:36Z")
Someone says I stole their story and keep on threatening me and killing people that to try to help me then I realize I’m a schizophrenic and I’ve really been killing everyone and that person I thought was real was just in my mind. Make me wonder what other people are just figments of my imagination. I’m a child in a town where kids keep on disappearing and their mangled bodies turn up later then I realize the thing that is killing all the kids wants to kill me and my friends. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/56 "2005-08-16T00:04:39Z")
Ohhh, thought of another one: I’m in this walk where there are 100 people and if you stop or slow down you get a warning and after three warnings you’re shot. Then I’m on my third warning and I just got a bad cramp and can hardly walk. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/57 "2005-08-16T00:07:52Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Being in a giant ape’s hand while atop the Empire State Building. How would you feel if Al Jolsen was carrying you up the Chysler building? After that, he couldn’t get arrested in that town. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/58 "2005-08-16T00:11:15Z")
> [@flamingbananas](#): > > Ohhh, thought of another one: > I’m in this walk where there are 100 people and if you stop or slow down you get a warning and after three warnings you’re shot. Then I’m on my third warning and I just got a bad cramp and can hardly walk. AKA, the Baatan Death march. Well, maybe not that bad… ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/59 "2005-08-16T00:13:33Z")
> [@uglybeech](#): > > If only that were sci fi. That was a true story :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: I know - I qualified including it as a “horror predicament.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036/60 "2005-08-16T00:17:46Z")
> [@flamingbananas](#): > > Ohhh, thought of another one: > I’m in this walk where there are 100 people and if you stop or slow down you get a warning and after three warnings you’re shot. Then I’m on my third warning and I just got a bad cramp and can hardly walk. AKA, the Baatan Death march. Well, maybe not that bad… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sci-fi-horror-predicaments-you-wouldnt-want-to-find-yourself-in/317036.md?page=4)